The federal government is sure the National Party won’t “torpedo” the Telstra 3 sale, Finance Minister Nick Minchin has said.

When asked if he thought the Nationals would prevent the $30 billion sale of the government’s 51.8 per cent share in the telco, Senator Minchin said he did not.

“No, I don’t expect them to torpedo it,” he told journalists.

“The National Party and rural Liberals, may I say, obviously have a deep and abiding interest in ensuring that as we go through the sale process, we put in place arrangements to ensure their services are not affected.

“They understandably want to make sure telecommunications services don’t suffer through the sale process and it’s up to us to persuade them that that won’t occur.

“I believe we can satisfy them that they will continue to receive a very high standard of telecommunications and that therefore they will support the sale legislation.”

Prime Minister John Howard has dismissed the findings of a NSW Farmers’ Association survey which found 80 per cent of farmers across the state don’t want Telstra to be sold unless services are improved.

“Subject to being satisfied that services in the bush are up to scratch, we believe we should proceed with the sale,” Mr Howard has previously said.

Mr Howard is determined to push forward with the full sale of Telstra despite rural Australians have branded services in the bush has “a joke”.

Senator Minchin has said that rural Australians have been burnt in the past by the withdrawal of services of one kind or another.

Now thanks to its complete control of the Senate the government is moving toward the full sale and privatisation of Telstra.

However, Queensland Nationals have warned that the Telstra sale will not go ahead if their concerns are ignored and are working on a five-point plan to improve regional services before privatisation.

Senator Minchin has said that the coalition will ensure the legislation had internal support when asked what it would take to convince the Nationals and rural Liberals to support the privatisation.

“We’re going to discuss this within the coalition—just what arrangements can we put in place that will ensure internal support for the sale legislation,” he said.

“That now is a matter for the coalition to resolve, given the coalition majority in the Senate.

“There is obviously, by definition, at some point a price that’s too high, and as responsible economic managers, we’re not going to sell Telstra at any price.”

The NSW Farmers’ found that over 50 percent of respondents in their survey across 14 electorates in regional NSW still had unreliable telephone land lines and mobile services.

Senator Minchin has said the government would need to seek mechanisms that satisfy rural Australians that a responsible level of future investment in rural services would be made.